The modus operandi of the accused is like a plot straight from a Bollywood potboiler. Mohali SSP GPS Bhullar said,The accused would lure the poor and the needy to the hospital in Mohali on the pretext of a minor surgery for removal of a benign vein,which would also fetch the person easy money to the tune of Rs 2 lakh. On the pretext of the minor surgery,one of the two kidneys would be removed and the person would be sent back to his native place. Back here begins the real operation. According to the police sources,the accused,in order to prove that the kidney donor and recipient are related,would swap their blood sample with an accompanying relative of the patient. Thus,after they were shown as family members,the kidney of the lured person would be transplanted to the patient. As a procedure,it was convenient to seek approval for related cases while in unrelated cases,permission was required to be taken from the state committee for both the recipient and the donor.

More cases likely to emerge

Police officials said that more cases are likely to be unearthed soon. In all the cases,mostly from UP,Bihar and Nepal,money exchanged hands and the transplants were carried out based on fake documents. The kidneys were taken out without the knowledge of the person.